Refrigerating system



NOV. 5, 1935, C, Ai OTTO l 2,019,724

REFRIGERATING SYSTEM Filed SBPD- l, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l m l' 4 Z NW f J2 '-.l'gfz- :1

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J4 ,1? P J5 z2 Q n 21 xs Il l Il .57 ZZ 2@ Smaenfor i au ttorneg Nov. 5, 1935, c, A, OTTO REFRIAGERATING SYSTEM Filed Sept. l, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Brmenfor (lttorneg a thermostat subject to the temperature of the 'reigned Nov. s, 193s' f UNiTED cs'i'a'rEs` 2,019,124 nErnIGEnATiNG srs'rniir oai-1A. otto, Milwaukee, wie., assignma .mmson Service Company, Milwaukee, Wie., a oorporatiori of Wisconsin Application september i, issaseriai No. 742,495

12 Claims.

f This invention relates to expansion valves for refrigerating systems and provides a mechanism by which so-called automatic expansion valves .may be subjected to a modulating control responsive tc the temperature created by the evaporator to which the expansion valve furnishes refrigerant. .l

, A familiar type of automatic expansion valve comprises a needle valve (or the equivalent) controlling ow or refrigerant Ato the evaporator; spring loading' means `(commonly adjustable) biasing the valve in a. closing direction; a movable abutment subject to evaporator pressure, i. e., the pressure onl the ldischarge side or the valve, such abutment urging the valve in a closing di rection; and some type or thermostat subject to the temperature of refrigerant leaving the evaporator and acting through a pressure motor to develop an opening tendency on the valve as such. 4temperature rises.

To control the evaporator in response to temperature in the space cooled by the evaporator, it has been the practice to connect a controlling valve in series' with the expansion valve, and in advance thereof, such valve being controlled by refrigerated space, the thermostat serving to move the valve in a closing direction on fall of temperature. This arrangement is objectionable because when the controlling valve is more nearly closed than the expansion valve, expansion will occur at the controllingl valve, and the expansion valve will frost.

According .to the present invention, the thermostat in the refrigerated space acts on lall of temperature to energize normally inactive means,

such means when energized acting to develop an 'additional closing force on the expansion valve.

Stated differently when room temperature vfalls a room thermostat becomes active to develop an additional closing tendency on the expansion Valve itself. 'Such force varies with the depression of room temperature below the desired value. When room temperature is normal the expansion r valve is :tree to respond to inlet pressure and discharge temperature oi the. evaporator, its normal mode of operation. When the room thermostat takes control it exercises a modulating action.

Referring to the drawings, preferred embodiments of the inventive concept will now-be de!l scrid.

Fig. l is a vertical axial section oi' an automatic expansion valve having ythe invention applied by the use of a pneumatic relay room thermostat actuating a bellows motor.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view similar to a portion of Fig. 1 showing the substitution for the pneu-- matic thermostat of an expansible fluid thermostat.

thermostat may be connected to exercise serial graduated control of the expansion valves of two evaporators.

Referring iirst to Fig. l, the body of the expansion valve is shown at il and has an inlet connecl0 tion l2 and a discharge connection it.

Clamped between body il and cap itis the annular base l5 for the metallic bellows it. Attached to the center of bellows it by nut il is the yoke it which is oiiset'to clear the seat boss 15 i9 of body ii and carries the upwardly seating needle expansion valve ti, which is adiustably mounted in the yoke it vby being threaded therein. A check nut t2 maintains the adjustment.

Valve 2i is guided atl its lower end in a recess 20 in the plug 2t, which is threaded in. an aperture in body il and is removable to give access to the valve. Plug t3 also serves as a seat for the coil compression spring 2d which reacts at its upper end .against yoke it and thus urges valve ti in a 25 closing direction. Y The boss it is provided with a passage 2t leading from inlet i2 to seat bushing 26 with which valve 2l coacts. t

Threaded into cap itl is a neck neclr 2l is a housing 2Q which supports the two thermostat motors and encloses the moving parts oi their force transmitting mechanism, as will be explained.

The push rod it is guided at'its upper end in a tubular extension tl of housing 2t. .at its lower end it is in thrust engagement with nut il and yoke it and at its upper end is in thrust engage- 40 ment with bellows et of a thermostat motor. This motor is made up of shell 33, the bellows t2 sealed thereto and enclosed thereby, and a coil v compression spring tti tending to urge the bellows upward. vIhe shell tt is threaded toaclampfrigerant leaving the evaporator ted by the exce Fig. 3 is a diagram showing how a single room o l 2li formed with 30 a guideway for the push rod 2t and threaded on pansion valve, and develops an opening tendency on the valve in response to rise oi temperature. Also mounted onhousing 29 is a second thermostat motor. 'Ihis comprises a cup-like shell 43, a metallic bellows 44 enclosed thereby and attached at its lower end to an annulus 45 which isalso attached to shell 43. 'I'he bellows 44 carries at its upper end a head 46 having a hub 4'| to which link 48 is attached.` 'Ihe hub 41 has a guideway for pilotl 49 formed as a part of the nipple 5| which, with pipe 52, connects the motor with the branch line connection of a pneumatic relay thermostat 53.

A spring 54 urges head 48 upward and exerts a valve closing tendency on valve 2| by urging push rod28 upward in opposition to bellows 32. The force transmitting connection comprises lever 55 fulcrumed at 56 and pinned to link 48 at 51, the

lever passing through a slot in push rod 28 and engaging the V-shaped thrust boss 58.' 'I'he slot in the push rod 28 is of such length as to aord a substantial clearance beneath the lever 55 so that this lever never reacts downward upon the push rod 23.

The thermostat 53 may take various forms but is illustrated as of the type vdescribed and claimed in the patent to Otto, No. 1,500,260, granted July 8, 1924. It is subject to the temperature in the space cooled by the evaporator which the valve 2| feeds and acts to increase pressure in pipe 52 as temperature rises.

The basic condition is that the thermostat shall exert an increasing closing tendency on valve 2| as temperature in the .refrigerated space falls below a desired minimum. Above that minimum it is desirable that the thermostat 53 and motor 43-44 leave the valve under the joint control of bellows I6 and 32 alone. This last condition is attained in Fig. 1 by the one-way thrust relation between lever 55 and push rod 23. In Fig. 2 the possible substitution of another type of thermov stat for the pneumatic relay thermostat 53 and motor 43-44 is indicated. Here a bellows motor,

indicated generally by the numeral |43, thermoercising serial modulating control on the expansionfvalves of two evaporators. The receiver 6| supplies liquid refrigerant through branched liquid line 62 and two expansion valves Ila and lib to twoevaporators 63a and 83h which are connected to suction line 34 by branches 35a, 35h.

Major elements of the structure shown in Fig. 1 are indicated in Fig. 3 by the same reference numerals used in Fig. l but diilerentiated by the `letters a and b.' Thus the bulbs 42a and 42h are clamped to the suction branches 35a and 35h respectively, while the single thermostat 53, identical with thermostat 53 of Fig. 1, has a branch line 52 which leads by way of 52a and 52h to the motors 43a and 43h respectively. The expansion valves are differentiated onlyV in the relative strengths of spring 54a of one and 54h of the other. Thus as thermostat 53 changes branch line pressure it first adjusts one valve and then the other. Preferably adjustment of the second y commences at the limit of adjustment of the first, but various relations are possible by choice of the relative spring strengths, and under particular conditions one or another relation may be preferable. 5

lated to the valve tocompensate for diverse char- 10 acteristics of thermostats, some of which develop wider pressure variations per degree than others, and some of which are reverse acting, i. e. reduce pressure on rise of temperature instead of increasing it. 15

Broadly stated, the invention contemplates normal controlof the expansion valve in response to evaporator pressure acting to close the valve, and evaporator discharge temperature acting to open the valve on rise of temperature. Super- 20 posed on this is a secondary control acting to close the valve on fall of temperature in the refrigerated space. Preferably this secondary control is wholly inactive above a given temperature and increasingly active as temperature is reduced 25 below such given temperature. A wide range'of mechanisms which will meet these requirements may lbe evolved and are within the broad scope of the invention.

41`. The method of regulating an expansionl valve to control a space-cooling evaporator which comprises varying the opening of said valve in re sponse to the resultant of three forces, namely, a closing force proportional to evaporator pressure, 35 an opening force which increases with evaporator discharge temperature, and a closing force which increases as space temperature falls.

2. The method of regulating an expansion valve to control a space cooling evaporator, which com- 40 prises varying the opening of said valve in response to the resultant of a closing force proportional to evaporator pressure, an opening force which increases with evaporator discharge temperature, and a closing force which is normally 45 zero but becomes effective at, and increases as` space temperature falls below, a chosen minimum value. e

3. In a cooling device, the combination of an evaporator: a valve controlling the supply of 50 volatile refrigerant thereto; a movable abutment subject to evaporator pressure and urging said valve in a closing direction; a thermostat subject to temperature of refrigerant at the evaporator discharge; means lcontrolled by said thermostat 55 serving to exert on said valve 'an opening force which increases with temperature; a thermostat subject to temperature of a medium cooled by saidfevaporator; and means controlled by the last named thermostat and serving to exert on 60 said valve a closing force lwhich increases as the temperature of said medium falls.

@maras perature of said medium falls; yand loading means for biasing said valve in a closing direction.

5. In a cooling device, the combination of an evaporator; a valve controlling the supply of volatile refrigerant thereto; a movable abutment subject to evaporator pressure and urging said valve in a closing direction; a thermostat subject to temperature of refrigerant at the evaporator discharge; means controlled by said thermostat serving to exert on said valve an openingincreases with temperature; a

force which thermostat subject to temperature oi' a medium cooled by said evaporator; and means controlled to temperature of refrigerant at the evaporatordischarge; means controlled by said thermostat serving to exert on said valve an opening force whichl incr'ases with temperature; a thermostat subject t`o temperature -of a medium cooled by said evaporator; means controlled by the last-named thermostat and initially effective at a chosen minimum temperature of said medium to exert on said valve a closing force which increases-as the temperature of said medium falls below said minimum; and loading means for biasing said valve in a closing direction.

r 7. In an expansion valve the combination of a.

valve; a movable abutment subject to pressure on the discharge side of the valve and urging said valve in a closing direction; and two thermally responsive motors in opposed thrust relation vwith each other, operatively related with said valve f to control the movements thereof.

8. In an expansion valve, the combination of a valve; a movable abutment subject to pressure on the discharge side of the valve and urging said valve in a closing direction; two thermally responsive motors in opposed thrust relation with each other, operatively related with said valve to control the movements thereof; and spring means biasing said valve in a closing direction.

` 9. In expansion valve, the combination of a valve; a movable abutment subject to pressure on the discharge side oi' the valve and urging said valve in a closing direction; a shiftable member capable of exerting a one-'way opent.` r thrust on said valve; and two thermally respon ve motors s in opposed one-way thrust engagement with said shiftable member.

i0. In an expansion valve, the combination of a valve; a movable abutment lsubject to pressure on the discharge side of said valve and urging lll said valve in a closing direction; a thermostatically actuated motor urging said valve in an opening direction; and a second thermostatically actuated motor having a one-wayy force mitting connection with said valve and arranged lo to exert a closing force thereonwhen subject to temperature below a chosen minimum.

1l. In a cooling device, the combination of an evaporator; an expansion valve controlling the' supply of volatile refrigerant thereto, said ex- E@ pansion valve comprising means responsive to evaporator pressure on the discharge side of the expansion valve tending to close the valve, and means responsive to the temperature conditionsof the refrigerant at 'the discharge of the evapora- .95*

tor tending to open the valve in response to increase of refrigerant temperature; a thermostat subject to the temperature of a medium cooled by said evaporator; and means controlled by said thermostat and serving to exert on said valve a m closing force which increases as the temperatin'e of said medium alls.

12. In a cooling device,'the combination of an evaporator;` an expansion valve controlling the supply of volatile refrigerant thereto, said expan- 35 sion valve comprising means responsive to evaporator pressure on the discharge side of the expansion valve tending to close the valve, and means responsive to the temperature conditions of the refrigerant at the discharge ofthe evapora- @i0 tor tending to open the valve in-response' to increase of refrigerant temperature; a theostat subject to the temperature of a medi cooled by said evaporator; and means controlled by d thermostat and initially effective at a chosen 45 minimum temperature oi said medium to exert on said valve a closing force which incres as the temperature of said medium falls below said 

